The outbreak of swine flu among several dozen people who attended the Butler County Fair last week has been linked to a similar outbreak in Indiana. Health officials say up to 41 people, nearly all of them children, have become sick with symptoms similar to those of a swine flu strain. The southwest Ohio cases are linked to the Butler County Fair, which ended last weekend.

Ohio's leading education official has issued a public apology after a state watchdog found that he lobbied for a Texas-based standardized testing firm last year while on the company's payroll. Superintendent Stan Heffner said he had shown bad judgment and would accept whatever punishment the Ohio Board of Education deems necessary.

The US Agriculture Department has classified an additional 218 counties and a dozen states as disaster areas due to the nation's drought. That brings this year's total to nearly 1600 counties in Ohio and 31 other states. More than 90% of them because of the drought. A national monitor map by the University of Nebraska shows Ohio is in a moderate drought. Ohio State University agricultural economist Matt Roberts tells statehouse correspondent Bill Cohen recent rainfall cannot reverse much of the damaged crop yields.

Residents living near the Ohio Turnpike aren't convinced about the benefits state officials say would come by privatizing the toll road. The first public meeting about the plan came last night in Elyria, where Lorain County Commissioner Ted Kalo expressed concerns about increased tolls and sloppy maintenance.

Ohio's largest police union has thrown its support behind democratic incumbent Sherrod Brown in the state's closely watched campaign for U.S. Senate. It marks the first time in 24 years the fraternal order of police has endorsed a democrat for senate. In a statement, president Jay McDonald cited Brown's opposition to the governor's collective bargaining overhaul as a key factor in its endorsement. The FOP chose brown over republican opponent and state treasurer Josh Mandel. The race continues to draw attention in and outside of The Buckeye State. And as Ohio Public Radio's Karen Kasler reports, it's already setting records.

Death is an issue few people want to talk about. One central Ohio woman wants to change that. Lizzy Miles is hosting what's believed to be the first "Death Cafe" in the United States tomorrow night in Westerville. Spaces for the event have already been closed so miles is taking reservations for another cafe August 23rd in Columbus. She talks about them with the Ohio Public Radio's Jo Ingles.

State prisons director Gary Mohr has approved the first three inmates for a program meant to help ex-cons find work. The program provides information to employers about an inmate's employability. Mohr says it's designed to reduce Ohio's prison population in part by reducing recidivism.

The director of Ohio State University's Sea Grant program predicts this year's toxic blue-green algae bloom in Lake Erie's Western Basin will be much smaller than last year. A team of researchers collaborated on a seasonal algae prediction, saying this year will be mild compared with worsening blooms over the past few years. The team says there's been less rain than usual, reducing the phosphorus from raw sewage and farm fertilizer runoff that feeds algae growth. The algae produce bacteria that can kill animals and sicken humans.

Ohio officials say only two of the 18 indicted suspects remain at large in a telemarketing scam that allegedly stole millions from people in 41 states over the past five years. Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine's office said Monday that two more members of the ring, including its alleged leader, have been arrested in the past two days - one in Florida and one in Ohio. DeWine says the suspects targeted land owners and led them to believe their property was worth more than it really was.

More than half a million Ohio homes and businesses have had their electric service restored in the wake of last Friday's windstorm, but that leaves about 131,000 still without power this afternoon. That's the word from Ohio's largest electric company, American Electric Power. Ohio Public Radio's Bill Cohen talked with some folks who are now in their seventh day without electricity.

During the school year, thousands of Ohio children from low-income families receive discounted or free lunches in the cafeteria. In the summertime, some of those kids are able to get free lunches at parks and playgrounds. And as Ohio Public Radio's Bill Cohen reports, some children are even getting food to take home.

Much attention has been focused on the presidential race and other issues on the November ballot. But in 36 of the state's 88 counties, residents will be voting in an earlier election. Statehouse correspondent Bill Cohen explains.

One of five suspects charged with plotting to bomb a highway bridge in Ohio wants to exclude trial evidence that he threatened to bomb his seventh-grade principal. Attorney Anthony Vegh told a federal judge in Akron that information about the threat by Douglas Wright of Indianapolis when he was 12 years old would prejudice the jury. The judge said Thursday he will take up the issue next month. All five men have pleaded not guilty. They allegedly tried to detonate what turned out to be a dud bomb provided by an informant.

Ohio's Attorney General is offering to have his staff mediate disputes between local governments and citizens who are demanding they turn over public records. A.G. Mike DeWine talks about his offer in this interview with statehouse correspondent Bill Cohen.

It was 200 years ago that the War of 1812 broke out and since Ohio was in the thick of the conflict, the state today launched a year long commemoration of the event. Statehouse correspondent Bill Cohen was on-hand for the ceremony in the capital building.

Ohio is one of several states projecting increased tax revenues for the upcoming fiscal year. Jim Letizia reports.

States expect to collect higher tax revenues in the coming budget year that combined would top pre-recession levels, according to a survey by the National Governors Association and the National Association of State Budget Officers.